Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Bird Flu in Chilean Man Shows Virus Adapting to Human Spread
Physicians Weekly Tests done on a Chilean man infected with bird flu showed signs that the virus has partially adapted to spread between mammals. However, the public health risk still remains low, U.S. health officials say. “Those genetic changes have been seen previously with past H5N1 infections, and have not resulted in spread between people,” […]
Apr 18, 2023
Bird flu kills thousands of waterbirds in West Africa
Bird Guides Thousands of waterbirds have reportedly died in Senegal and The Gambia in recent weeks as both countries are hit hard by an outbreak of bird flu (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza; HPAI). More than 1,700 birds have been reported as killed by the virus in Senegal, where the victims have included Great White Pelicans, Great Cormorants, Grey-headed Gulls and […]
Apr 18, 2023
China Publishes Data Showing Raccoon Dog DNA at Wuhan Market
NYT Scientists from the Chinese C.D.C. confirmed that DNA from raccoon dogs and other animals susceptible to the coronavirus was found at the market in early 2020. Chinese government scientists on Wednesday published a long-awaited study about a market in the city of Wuhan, acknowledging that animals susceptible to the coronavirus were there around the […]
Apr 11, 2023
What we know about the origin of covid-19, and what remains a mystery
Washington Post The precise origin of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid-19, remains unknown and continues to be a source of contentious debate. Two theories dominate the conversation: a natural spillover from infected animals, and a “lab leak” associated with coronavirusresearch in Wuhan, China, the city where the first cases of an unusual pneumonia-like illness were reported. President Biden in May […]
Apr 11, 2023
Avian Influenza found locally in domestic cat
Thermopolis Independent Record Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory (WSVL) diagnosed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in a barn cat near Thermopolis. According to WSVL, wild birds, particularly water fowl, have been affected in large numbers by HPAI, but in recent months they have detected the virus in wild carnivorous mammals including mountain lions and a […]
Apr 11, 2023
ASM ABSTRACT Marburg virus (MARV) is a highly virulent zoonotic filovirid that causes Marburg virus disease (MVD) in humans. The pathogenesis of MVD remains poorly understood, partially due to the low number of cases that can be studied, the absence of state-of-the-art medical equipment in areas where cases are reported, and limitations on the number […]
Apr 11, 2023
Avian Influenza A(H3N8) – China
WHO Situation at a glance On 27 March 2023, the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China notified WHO of one confirmed case of human infection with an avian influenza A(H3N8) virus. This is the third reported case of human infection with an avian influenza A(H3N8) virus; all three cases have been reported […]
Apr 11, 2023
USA Today More than 90 employees at an Upper Peninsula paper mill in Michigan are believed infected with a fungus found in soil and decaying wood, with about a dozen requiring hospitalization. Investigation of a blastomycosis outbreak at the Billerud paper mill in Escanaba is ongoing and involves local, state, and federal health and occupational safety officials. The […]
Apr 11, 2023
Marburg Virus: Diagnostic Testing, Packaging, and Shipping
NETEC When To Test for Marburg Virus Disease In the early stages, Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) can be difficult to diagnose based on signs and symptoms alone. Diagnostic testing can confirm infection within a few days of symptom onset. However, handling and transporting specimens from suspected MVD patients requires special precautions. If your facility has a patient […]
Apr 11, 2023
‘Flesh-eating’ bacteria that kills almost one in five infected spreading up east US coast
MSN News A rare ‘flesh-eating’ bacterium that kills almost one in five infected is spreading up the east coast of the US due to warming waters. Vibrio vulnificus is an ‘opportunistic bacterial pathogen’ found in coastal waters. Exposure to the bacteria through skin lesions can cause necrotising fasciitis, where tissue around the wound dies, requiring urgent removal […]
Apr 11, 2023
